1. Scope of CANENA Standardization Activities
1.1. The scope of the standardization subject matter addressed by CANENA and its committees shall be the electrotechnical codes and standards and conformity assessment test methods utilized in North America. Further, CANENA Standardization Activities are not limited to the harmonization or development of standards — conformity assessment, compliance issues, compatibility, interchangeability, interoperability, installation codes, intellectual property and other issues in the broadest definition of standardization may be part of CANENA Standardization Activities.
However, CANENA is not a standards developer (see clause 6.5) and will not hold copyrights or intellectual property rights on the resulting documents. Nothing contained herein shall preclude CANENA Standardization Activities with any country or regional entities such as MERCOSUR, PASC, or the IEC.
2. General Comments Concerning CANENA Standardization Activities
2.1 Standardization Activities will take place in CANENA only after and while the standardization activity is registered with the CANENA Secretary-General.
2.2 Technical Harmonization Committee – Generally, technical work including harmonizing of standards and initiation of new standards development will be done within a CANENA – Technical Harmonization Committee – THC which is established with a specific scope by the CANENA Council or its Executive Committee. THCs must report annually to the CANENA Council. A THC may establish Technical Harmonization Subcommittees (THSC) or Working Groups (THWG) as necessary to address specific standards, portions of standards, or any specific or general issue within the scope of the THC.
2.3 Special Technical Committees – The CANENA Council or its Executive Committee may establish Special Technical Committees – STC for unique standardization activities that do not fit into the THC structure or normal operation of a THC. In addition to a scope, each newly created STC must have an organization plan, a defined mode of operation, and a stated duration or termination date. STCs exist only while registered with the Secretary-General. STCs must report annually to the CANENA Council.
2.4 CANENA Advisory Groups – The CANENA Council or its Executive Committee may establish CANENA Advisory Groups – CAG to address special subjects such as intellectual property rights policy. In addition to a scope, each newly created CAG must have an organization, a defined mode of operation, and a stated duration or termination date. CAGs exist only while registered with the Secretary-General. CAGs must report annually to the CANENA Council. Where practical, the CAGs should correspond to the IEC Advisory Groups or governance committees (i.e., ACOS, ACEC, ACET, etc.).”
3. CANENA Committees
3.1 THCs, STCs and CAGs will function as CANENA Committees subject to any rules and procedures of CANENA and subject to the oversight and control of the CANENA Council or its Executive Committee.
3.2 All THCs, STCs and CAGs come into existence only after being registered by the Secretary-General, and will continue to exist only as long as that registration remains with the Secretary-General.
3.3 The scopes of registered CANENA THCs shall, where practical, match the scopes and, subject to the concurrence of the THC, assume the numerical designation of the corresponding IEC Technical Committee (TC) or Subcommittee (SC). In the event that the THC does not wish to adopt the numerical designation of the corresponding IEC TC or SC or there is no exact equivalent IEC TC or SC, the Secretary-General shall assign a number to the THC that is not in conflict with any existing IEC designation. For example, standards on programmable controllers are the subject of IEC SC65B WG6. A registered CANENA Standardization Activity for the harmonization of programmable controllers should become registered as CANENA THC 65B.
4. Establishment of THCs
4.1 All requests for the initiation of CANENA standardization activities shall be addressed to the CANENA Secretary-General. Such requests are not limited to Council Members. The Secretary-General shall notify the Council or its Executive Committee of the request to determine CANENA interest in the activity. A THC shall not be established unless interest is expressed by members from at least two countries. The standardization activity request may be, but shall not be limited to, one or more of the following types of CANENA standardization activities:
- Request for the formation of a Technical Harmonization Committee,
- Request for a project for the Harmonization of Existing Standards,
- Request for a project for the initiation of a New Standard, or
- Request for a project for the Harmonization of Conformity Assessment (CA) Activities.
The minimum required information which must be part of any such request is as shown in the following table.
| Information | THC Formation | Harmonize Standards | New Standards | Harmonize CA Activities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identify Prospective Standards for harmonization or define title and scope for new standard | n.a. | Required | Required | Required |
| Identify the scope of the project and, if applicable or desired, the IEC TC or SC | Required | Required | Required | Required |
| State a target completion date for activities | Required | Required | Required | Required |
4.2 Once the Secretary-General has determined interest from at least two countries, the requested action shall be initiated in accordance with the following table.
| Secretary-General Action Taken after the approval of Council or the ExCo | THC Formation | Harmonize Standards | New Standards | Harmonize CA Activities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Register a new THC | Yes | If a THC does not exist | If a THC does not exist | If a THC does not exist |
| Register a new Project and add the project to the THC Work Log | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Send Project Initiation Notice to all affected organizations such as ANCE, UL, CSA, etc. | No | Yes | Yes | No |
5. CANENA Technical Committees
5.1 All projects including harmonizing of standards, initiation of new standards development activities, and other standards or code related activities must be done within a registered CANENA – THC or STC. Under the direction of the THC or THSC and the oversight of the CANENA Council, each THC or STC Chair will be responsible for the administration of THC or THSC activities.
5.2 The Chair Pro Tem of a THC or STC shall be designated by the Secretary-General with the concurrence of the CANENA Council or its Executive Committee.
5.3 The THC or STC may nominate another chair, elect or designate other officers, name an administrator, and establish an organizational structure as it sees fit. The Executive Committee shall approve the nominated Chair for a term of office of two years; reappointments are permitted.
5.4 A THC may establish Technical Harmonization Subcommittees (THSC) or Working Groups (THWG). A STC may also establish STSCs or STWGs. The establishment of such Subcommittees or Working Groups shall be promptly reported to the Secretary-General and their activities shall be described in the annual report of the THC.
5.5 The THC or STC Chair shall appoint the Chairs of Subcommittees or Working Groups. The term of office for SC and WG Chairs shall be one year with successive reappointments permitted. These appointments shall be confirmed by the THC or STC.
5.6 Administrative services (text editing, hosting meetings, providing translation services, etc.) shall be the responsibility of the individual Committee, Subcommittee or Working Group. For example, these services can be provided by the participants individually as a normal part of operations, by another organization, or by the THC or STC as an entity through the apportionment of actual meeting costs to the participants.
6. THC or STC Operation
6.1 A THC or STC must be registered with the Secretary-General of CANENA to become and remain operational.
6.2 For harmonization or initiation of new standards development activities –
6.2.1 The term Standard shall apply to either harmonization of existing standards or development of a new standard.6.2.2 Starting with the first discussion (at the first meeting, teleconference, e-mail, etc.), the THC or STC Chair shall ensure that permission of the copyright holder of each prospective standard has been received. The copyright holders shall be responsible for establishing an agreement between them as to all copyright issues concerning the resulting standard. These issues shall include, but are not limited to:
- Publishing, distribution and sales rights
- Use of copyright holder’s logo
Prior to establishing such agreements the THC or STC should check with the Secretary-General to determine whether such relationships have already been established from prior agreements.
6.2.2 Use of the CANENA logo. While the inclusion of the CANENA logo on the cover or title page of the resultant harmonized standards is desirable, its use is at the discretion of the copyright holder(s).
In the case of the adoption of an international standard, secure permission from the relevant Member Body.
6.2.3 THCs and STCs are should utilize the IEC format, whenever possible.
6.3 Wherever possible, the THCs or STCs should harmonize with the relevant IEC standard. Information on any inability to harmonize with the IEC standard should be provided to the National Member’s National Committees of the IEC if they exist, (via the liaisons in the THC or STC), for consideration as inputs to the relevant IEC TC and SC.
6.4 While the copyright holders have the final responsibility for the numbering of standards, the use of the ISO/IEC Guide 3 on the numbering of standards based on IEC standards should be followed whenever possible.
6.5 The formal approval of any standard is accomplished outside of CANENA, within and according to the procedures of the organizations involved. Accordingly, there is no formal voting on the standards within the THC or STC. Consensus as determined by the THC or STC Chair will govern the work conduct and the completion of the activities using the definition of consensus provided in ISO/IEC Guide 2. THCs or STCs shall not be dominated by any single member company or organization. Membership on a THC or STC or any Subcommittee or Working Group of the THC or STC shall be open to all interested CANENA members on an equal basis.
6.6 The objective of the THC ideally is to develop an identical standard in all three countries. However, this may not be possible in the early stages of harmonization.
Two types of standards result from harmonization discussions – “identical” and “equivilent”.
- “Identical” — Standard is the same in technical content and fully corresponding in presentation except for differences in codes and governmental regulations.
- “Equivalent” — Standard is substantially the same in technical content but not fully corresponding in presentation.
Technical differences are allowed for code and governmental regulations and those recognized as being in accordance with NAFTA Article 905, for example because of fundamental, climatic, geographical, technological or infrastructural factors, scientific justification or the level of protection that the country considers appropriate.
Presentation — is defined to be: “word for word except for editorial changes”
Editorial changes — are defined to be: “Any change that does not alter the technical content of the standard,” as described below:
- minor variations in format such as pagination;
- corrections of misprints or typographical errors;
- bilingual column headings or figure captions on a common table or figure in a bilingual edition;
- change from first-angle to third-angle drawings;
- addition of a warning: “this is a first angle drawing”;
- substitution of a point (.) for a (,) as a decimal marker;
- addition of explanation (not altering the technical content) where the original text may be misunderstood;
- addition of any other information or instruction (not altering the technical content).
7. THC, THSC, STC, and CAG Membership
7.1 Membership in THCs, THSCs, STCs and CAGs shall be limited to CANENA Members Only, plus the designated representatives from the standards developing organizations, whether members of CANENA or not. Members of Working Groups need not be CANENA members.
7.2 Liaisons
THC, STC and CAG Chairs are encouraged to establish and maintain liaisons with the relevant IEC/TC organization(s) responsible for determining the national position(s) on IEC documents.
Approved 8/23/96
Appendix
List of Terms
THC, STC and CAG Chairs are encouraged to establish and maintain liaisons with the relevant IEC/TC organization(s) responsible for determining the national position(s) on IEC documents.
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
MERCOSUR Southern Common Market (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay)
